TiO2 demand to fall by 10-15% in 2009 - Dupont executive

KUALA LUMPUR (ICIS news)--Global demand for titanium dioxide (TiO2) can fall by 10-15% this year because of the economic downturn, an executive from the world’s largest TiO2 producer said on Thursday.

Ong Ewe Hock, in charge of TiO2 pricing at DuPont Titanium Technologies, estimated global TiO2 demand this year to be 85-90% of 2008’s levels.

"The market has bottomed out in recent months but we can still see demand to be significantly affected this year even if the outlook now is better than at the start of the year," Ong said at the13th Asian Chlor-alkali Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The biggest fall in demand - at 12% - was likely to be seen from the automotive industry, Ong noted.

Demand from the construction, printing and plastics sectors was expected to fall by between 7-8%, he added.